ROLLING ON: North Shore rumbles past Ridge Point, State Semis Next (w/photo gallery)
HOUSTON - North Shore continues to check off the boxes.
The Mustangs raced out to a 28-7 halftime lead on Friday at Galena Park ISD Stadium over Ridge Point before dispatching the Panthers in the second half with an eventual 56-14 victory.
"I think the kids understand how to prepare week in and week out," North Shore coach Jon Kay said. "We had a great week of preparation and I don't think these kids will ever get credit for the amount of work they do, especially during a holiday week. They've given up their Thanksgiving, their Christmas and now they're New Year's Day."
.@tommy_yarrish caught up with North Shore head coach John Kay on having two strong playing styles on offense, the big defensive stop at the end of the first half, and what it'll take to continue to try and advance to another state championship: #TXHSFB pic.twitter.com/P7iu2cZUFj
— vypehouston (@vypehouston) January 1, 2021
North Shore with the win improves to 14-0 overall and advances to its third-straight state semifinal game. The Mustangs are now one win away from returning to the Class 6A Division I State Championship game and will face the winner of Cibolo Steele-Austin Westlake next week.
That State Semifinal game will be played here in Houston at Katy ISD's Legacy Stadium on Saturday, January 9, with a 2 p.m. kickoff.
"We've got to get better," Kay said about what it's going to take to try and return to state for a third-straight year. "I think that's been the mantra of this football team is identifying areas we have to improve. And equally, build on the strengths of what they've done well today. As long as we have an opportunity to go in there and watch the video and identify the things we have to get better at, then we've got a shot.
"We know it's going to get tougher each week. We don't know who we are playing yet but we have enough to focus on at North Shore to get us through the week."
Photos by Zac Byrd
Dematrius Davis finished 6 of 9 for 156 yards and three touchdowns against Ridge Point. Davis also rushed for 92 yards and three scores. At the end of the day, Davis had six touchdowns and 248 total yards for the Mustangs.
💥TOUCHDOWN MUSTANGS💥@Dematrius09 now has three rushing touchdowns and four total as he runs this one in just :40 seconds into the second half. North Shore leads Ridge Point 35-7 with 11:20 to go in the third quarter.@tommy_yarrish | #TXHSFB pic.twitter.com/eKMRZZCnJB
— vypehouston (@vypehouston) January 1, 2021
Davis' passing yards put him past Allen High School great Kyler Murray for 16th-all-time in career passing yards in Texas high school football history. He now stands at 10, 396 yards for his career, according to VYPE's records.
Texas A&M-signee Shadrach Banks led the Mustangs in receiving with 108 yards a touchdown, which was a 91-yard screen pass he took to the endzone.
Over the past three seasons, North Shore has amassed an overall record of 45-1 and has won 16-straight playoff games dating back to 2018.
💥TOUCHDOWN MUSTANGS💥@Dematrius09 hits @ShadrachBanks on a slant route and the future Aggie takes it 92 yards. North Shore leads Ridge Point 14-0 with 3:10 to go in the first quarter. @tommy_yarrish | #TXHSFB pic.twitter.com/RzjxqUFy2V
— vypehouston (@vypehouston) January 1, 2021